Psalm 12 → 106
Reasoning: 3040 Output: 7534 Total: 10574
Argument
Below are several ways to argue that **Psalm 106 “logically follows” Psalm 12**—not by historical authorship/date, but by *literary and theological progression*: Psalm 12 diagnoses a present crisis (“faithfulness has vanished; speech is corrupt; the weak are oppressed”), and Psalm 106 then supplies the “long-view explanation” and liturgical response (Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness across history; God’s repeated saving acts; renewed plea for salvation). --- ## 1) Direct lexical “hooks” (identical/near-identical forms and roots) ### a) The opening cry “Save!” → returns as the climactic plea - **Ps 12:2**: הוֹשִׁיעָה יְהוָה (“Save, YHWH”) - **Ps 106:47**: הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ (“Save us, YHWH our God”) This is one of the strongest “follow-on” links because it is the same salvation-root (**ישע**) and the same imperative-pattern (2ms/1cp), framing Psalm 106 as a *communal expansion* of Psalm 12’s plea. Also Psalm 12 contains the noun: - **Ps 12:6**: בְּיֵשַׁע (“in salvation”) and Psalm 106 repeatedly narrates that salvation: - **Ps 106:8,10**: וַיּוֹשִׁיעֵם (“and he saved them…”) So: **Psalm 12 asks for the rescue; Psalm 106 rehearses YHWH’s rescues and asks again.** --- ### b) “Faithful / faithfulness vanished” → “they believed… they did not believe” - **Ps 12:2**: פָּסּוּ אֱמוּנִים (“the faithful / faithfulness have vanished”) - **Ps 106:12**: וַיַּאֲמִינוּ (“then they believed…”) - **Ps 106:24**: לֹא הֶאֱמִינוּ (“they did not believe…”) Same root family (**אמן**) with an almost programmatic development: - Psalm 12 laments the disappearance of *’emunim* in society, - Psalm 106 demonstrates that Israel’s history oscillates between brief belief and rapid unbelief. That turns Psalm 12’s present-tense complaint into Psalm 106’s historical diagnosis: **this shortage of “faithful ones” is not new; it is patterned.** --- ### c) “Words / saying / speech” vocabulary (and the purity/impurity contrast) Psalm 12 is saturated with speech-terms (deceitful vs divine words). Psalm 106 repeatedly pivots on remembering/ignoring what God said. **Shared root אמר (rarely as a tight thematic cluster):** - **Ps 12:7**: אִמֲרוֹת יְהוָה … טְהֹרוֹת (“the sayings of YHWH are pure”) - **Ps 106:23**: וַיֹּאמֶר לְהַשְׁמִידָם (“and he said he would destroy them…”) - **Ps 106:34**: אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהוָה לָהֶם (“as YHWH had said to them”) Psalm 12 sets up a *speech-theology*: human speech is false and predatory; YHWH’s speech is pure and protective. Psalm 106 then narrates how Israel repeatedly fails precisely at that point: they forget, disbelieve, and disobey God’s speech/commands. --- ### d) “Lips” language (identical word class + striking placement) - **Ps 12:3–5**: שָׂפָה / שְׂפָתַיִם / לָשׁוֹן (“lip(s)… tongue”) - **Ps 106:33**: וַיְבַטֵּא בִּשְׂפָתָיו (“he spoke rashly with his lips”) Same noun-class **שָׂפָה**. Psalm 12 condemns corrupt “lips”; Psalm 106 includes a key turning-point where even Moses is caught in a “lips” failure—supporting the idea that Psalm 106 is a broadened, historical outworking of Psalm 12’s speech-problem. --- ### e) “Wicked” + “generation/forever” frame - **Ps 12:9**: רְשָׁעִים יִתְהַלָּכוּן (“the wicked walk about”) - **Ps 106:18**: תְּלַהֵט רְשָׁעִים (“flame consumed the wicked”) And “generation/forever” language: - **Ps 12:8**: מִן־הַדּוֹר זוּ לְעוֹלָם (“from this generation forever”) - **Ps 106:31**: לְדֹר וָדֹר עַד־עוֹלָם (“to generation and generation, forever”) - **Ps 106:48**: מִן־הָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹלָם (“from everlasting to everlasting”) This makes Psalm 106 feel like a *macro-scale* counterpart to Psalm 12: Psalm 12 is “this generation”; Psalm 106 is “generation to generation.” --- ## 2) A deliberate contrast: “great things” said by humans vs done by God A very tight, memorable lexical link is the noun **גְּדֹלוֹת**: - **Ps 12:4**: לָשׁוֹן מְדַבֶּרֶת גְּדֹלוֹת (“a tongue speaking ‘great things’” = boastful/arrogant claims) - **Ps 106:21**: עֹשֶׂה גְדֹלוֹת בְּמִצְרָיִם (“the One doing great things in Egypt” = God’s mighty acts) Same word-form, but reallocated: - Psalm 12: “great things” are *human boasts* that oppress. - Psalm 106: “great things” are *divine deeds* that save. That’s a neat “logical sequel”: Psalm 12 exposes the bankruptcy of human “great talk”; Psalm 106 answers with the only “greatness” that matters—YHWH’s saving history. --- ## 3) Form/genre progression that feels liturgically “next” ### Psalm 12 (individual lament → oracle → confidence) - Complaint about social collapse and predatory speech (vv.2–5) - A divine intervention-speech: “Now I will arise…” (v.6) - Trust in the purity of YHWH’s words and protection (vv.7–8) ### Psalm 106 (communal praise → communal confession → historical recital → renewed petition → doxology) - Praise/thanks opening (vv.1–2) - Confession: “We have sinned…” (v.6) - Long recital of rebellion/rescue cycles (vv.7–46) - Petition: “Save us… gather us…” (v.47) - Doxology/amen (v.48) So one plausible “logic of sequence” is: 1) **Lament about the present** (Psalm 12) 2) **Community response**: confession + remembrance + renewed plea (Psalm 106) That is a common Israelite liturgical movement: *crisis → appeal → remembering the exodus-pattern → confession → hope → praise.* --- ## 4) Psalm 106 reads like the “historical case-study” behind Psalm 12’s diagnosis Psalm 12’s key problem is not merely that enemies exist, but that: - the **faithful vanish**, - society is dominated by **deceptive speech**, - the **poor/needy** are exploited, - the wicked “walk around” unchecked. Psalm 106 supplies the long historical mechanism that produces exactly that kind of society: - forgetting God’s works (v.13), - refusing God’s word (v.24–25), - mixing with nations and adopting practices (v.35–39), - leading to oppression by enemies (v.41–42), - followed (repeatedly) by crying out and God hearing (v.44). In other words: Psalm 12’s snapshot (“it’s like this now”) is “explained” by Psalm 106’s cycle (“it gets like this when the community abandons God’s word/covenant—and God still rescues when they cry”). --- ## 5) Shared “mythic-historical” motif: YHWH rises to protect the weak Psalm 12 has a classic divine-warrior/judge awakening formula: - **Ps 12:6**: עַתָּה אָקוּם (“Now I will arise,” says YHWH) Psalm 106 repeatedly narrates that same intervention logic in Israel’s foundational mythology/history (Exodus, wilderness, conquest/oppression cycles), culminating in: - **Ps 106:44**: וַיַּרְא בַּצַּר לָהֶם … (“He saw their distress…”) So Psalm 106 can be read as: **here is what “Now I will arise” looks like across Israel’s story.** --- ### Summary claim you could make Psalm 12 sets up a theology of crisis: *human speech is corrupt; faithfulness collapses; the weak suffer; only YHWH’s word is pure and saving.* Psalm 106 then follows logically as the community’s extended answer: *we have seen this before through our whole history; our unfaithfulness produced it; YHWH repeatedly saved anyway—so save us again and gather us.* If you want, I can also give you (1) a compact table of shared roots with verse refs, or (2) an argument prioritizing only the *rarest* shared items (e.g., גְּדֹלוֹת, שָׂפָה, הוֹשִׁיעָה/הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ, הַדּוֹר/לְדֹר וָדֹר).
Evaluation
Score: 4.2
Evaluated at: 2026-02-04T02:17:21 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5.2
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 637 Output: 8366 Total: 9003
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.5 / 10
Flags: generic
Multiple correct verse-linked lexical overlaps (הושיע*, אמן, שפה, גדלות, דור/עולם), but all are common Psalter vocabulary; no editorial/structural signal and no counterargument to coincidence or non-adjacency in Psalter order. H₀ not overcome.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 12 and Psalm 106 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 106 logically follows on from Psalm 12? Consider stylistic similarities, similarities of form, similarities of vocab or ideas, shared roots (if you're doing the search in Hebrew), connections to sequences of events common in ancient Israelite life, mythology or history shared by the two psalms.
Rarer words are more significant than commoner words. Identical forms are more significant than similar forms. The same word class is more significant than different word classes formed from the same root. Identical roots are more significant than suppletive roots.
Psalm 12:
Psalm 12
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ
עַֽל־
הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. הוֹשִׁ֣יעָה
יְ֭הוָה
כִּי־
גָמַ֣ר
חָסִ֑יד
כִּי־
פַ֥סּוּ
אֱ֝מוּנִ֗ים
מִבְּנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
3. שָׁ֤וְא ׀
יְֽדַבְּרוּ֮
אִ֤ישׁ
אֶת־
רֵ֫עֵ֥הוּ
שְׂפַ֥ת
חֲלָק֑וֹת
בְּלֵ֖ב
וָלֵ֣ב
יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃
4. יַכְרֵ֣ת
יְ֭הוָה
כָּל־
שִׂפְתֵ֣י
חֲלָק֑וֹת
לָ֝שׁ֗וֹן
מְדַבֶּ֥רֶת
גְּדֹלֽוֹת׃
5. אֲשֶׁ֤ר
אָֽמְר֨וּ ׀
לִלְשֹׁנֵ֣נוּ
נַ֭גְבִּיר
שְׂפָתֵ֣ינוּ
אִתָּ֑נוּ
מִ֖י
אָד֣וֹן
לָֽנוּ׃
6. מִשֹּׁ֥ד
עֲנִיִּים֮
מֵאַנְקַ֢ת
אֶבְי֫וֹנִ֥ים
עַתָּ֣ה
אָ֭קוּם
יֹאמַ֣ר
יְהוָ֑ה
אָשִׁ֥ית
בְּ֝יֵ֗שַׁע
יָפִ֥יחַֽ
לֽוֹ׃
7. אִֽמֲר֣וֹת
יְהוָה֮
אֲמָר֢וֹת
טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת
כֶּ֣סֶף
צָ֭רוּף
בַּעֲלִ֣יל
לָאָ֑רֶץ
מְ֝זֻקָּ֗ק
שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃
8. אַתָּֽה־
יְהוָ֥ה
תִּשְׁמְרֵ֑ם
תִּצְּרֶ֓נּוּ ׀
מִן־
הַדּ֖וֹר
ז֣וּ
לְעוֹלָֽם׃
9. סָבִ֗יב
רְשָׁעִ֥ים
יִתְהַלָּכ֑וּן
כְּרֻ֥ם
זֻ֝לּ֗וּת
לִבְנֵ֥י
אָדָֽם׃
Psalm 106:
Psalm 106
1. הַֽלְלְויָ֨הּc ׀
הוֹד֣וּ
לַיהוָ֣ה
כִּי־
ט֑וֹב
כִּ֖י
לְעוֹלָ֣ם
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
2. מִ֗י
יְ֭מַלֵּל
גְּבוּר֣וֹת
יְהוָ֑ה
יַ֝שְׁמִ֗יעַ
כָּל־
תְּהִלָּתֽוֹ׃
3. אַ֭שְׁרֵי
שֹׁמְרֵ֣י
מִשְׁפָּ֑ט
עֹשֵׂ֖ה
צְדָקָ֣ה
בְכָל־
עֵֽת׃
4. זָכְרֵ֣נִי
יְ֭הוָה
בִּרְצ֣וֹן
עַמֶּ֑ךָ
פָּ֝קְדֵ֗נִי
בִּישׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃
5. לִרְא֤וֹת ׀
בְּט֘וֹבַ֤ת
בְּחִירֶ֗יךָ
לִ֭שְׂמֹחַ
בְּשִׂמְחַ֣ת
גּוֹיֶ֑ךָ
לְ֝הִתְהַלֵּ֗ל
עִם־
נַחֲלָתֶֽךָ׃
6. חָטָ֥אנוּ
עִם־
אֲבוֹתֵ֗ינוּ
הֶעֱוִ֥ינוּ
הִרְשָֽׁעְנוּ׃
7. אֲב֘וֹתֵ֤ינוּ
בְמִצְרַ֨יִם ׀
לֹא־
הִשְׂכִּ֬ילוּ
נִפְלְאוֹתֶ֗יךָ
לֹ֣א
זָ֭כְרוּ
אֶת־
רֹ֣ב
חֲסָדֶ֑יךָ
וַיַּמְר֖וּ
עַל־
יָ֣ם
בְּיַם־
סֽוּף׃
8. וַֽ֭יּוֹשִׁיעֵם
לְמַ֣עַן
שְׁמ֑וֹ
לְ֝הוֹדִ֗יעַ
אֶת־
גְּבוּרָתֽוֹ׃
9. וַיִּגְעַ֣ר
בְּיַם־
ס֭וּף
וַֽיֶּחֱרָ֑ב
וַיּוֹלִיכֵ֥ם
בַּ֝תְּהֹמ֗וֹת
כַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃
10. וַֽ֭יּוֹשִׁיעֵם
מִיַּ֣ד
שׂוֹנֵ֑א
וַ֝יִּגְאָלֵ֗ם
מִיַּ֥ד
אוֹיֵֽב׃
11. וַיְכַסּוּ־
מַ֥יִם
צָרֵיהֶ֑ם
אֶחָ֥ד
מֵ֝הֶ֗ם
לֹ֣א
נוֹתָֽר׃
12. וַיַּאֲמִ֥ינוּ
בִדְבָרָ֑יו
יָ֝שִׁ֗ירוּ
תְּהִלָּתֽוֹ׃
13. מִֽ֭הֲרוּ
שָׁכְח֣וּ
מַעֲשָׂ֑יו
לֹֽא־
חִ֝כּ֗וּ
לַעֲצָתֽוֹ׃
14. וַיִּתְאַוּ֣וּ
תַ֭אֲוָה
בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר
וַיְנַסּוּ־
אֵ֝֗ל
בִּֽישִׁימֽוֹן׃
15. וַיִּתֵּ֣ן
לָ֭הֶם
שֶׁאֱלָתָ֑ם
וַיְשַׁלַּ֖ח
רָז֣וֹן
בְּנַפְשָֽׁם׃
16. וַיְקַנְא֣וּ
לְ֭מֹשֶׁה
בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה
לְ֝אַהֲרֹ֗ן
קְד֣וֹשׁ
יְהוָֽה׃
17. תִּפְתַּח־
אֶ֭רֶץ
וַתִּבְלַ֣ע
דָּתָ֑ן
וַ֝תְּכַ֗ס
עַל־
עֲדַ֥ת
אֲבִירָֽם׃
18. וַתִּבְעַר־
אֵ֥שׁ
בַּעֲדָתָ֑ם
לֶ֝הָבָ֗ה
תְּלַהֵ֥ט
רְשָׁעִֽים׃
19. יַעֲשׂוּ־
עֵ֥גֶל
בְּחֹרֵ֑ב
וַ֝יִּשְׁתַּחֲו֗וּ
לְמַסֵּכָֽה׃
20. וַיָּמִ֥ירוּ
אֶת־
כְּבוֹדָ֑ם
בְּתַבְנִ֥ית
שׁ֝֗וֹר
אֹכֵ֥ל
עֵֽשֶׂב׃
21. שָׁ֭כְחוּ
אֵ֣ל
מוֹשִׁיעָ֑ם
עֹשֶׂ֖ה
גְדֹל֣וֹת
בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃
22. נִ֭פְלָאוֹת
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ
חָ֑ם
נ֝וֹרָא֗וֹת
עַל־
יַם־
סֽוּף׃
23. וַיֹּ֗אמֶר
לְֽהַשְׁמִ֫ידָ֥ם
לוּלֵ֡י
מֹ֘שֶׁ֤ה
בְחִיר֗וֹ
עָמַ֣ד
בַּפֶּ֣רֶץ
לְפָנָ֑יו
לְהָשִׁ֥יב
חֲ֝מָת֗וֹ
מֵֽהַשְׁחִֽית׃
24. וַֽ֭יִּמְאֲסוּ
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ
חֶמְדָּ֑ה
לֹֽא־
הֶ֝אֱמִ֗ינוּ
לִדְבָרֽוֹ׃
25. וַיֵּרָגְנ֥וּ
בְאָהֳלֵיהֶ֑ם
לֹ֥א
שָׁ֝מְע֗וּ
בְּק֣וֹל
יְהוָֽה׃
26. וַיִשָּׂ֣א
יָד֣וֹ
לָהֶ֑ם
לְהַפִּ֥יל
א֝וֹתָ֗ם
בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃
27. וּלְהַפִּ֣יל
זַ֭רְעָם
בַּגּוֹיִ֑ם
וּ֝לְזָרוֹתָ֗ם
בָּאֲרָצֽוֹת׃
28. וַ֭יִּצָּ֣מְדוּ
לְבַ֣עַל
פְּע֑וֹר
וַ֝יֹּאכְל֗וּ
זִבְחֵ֥י
מֵתִֽים׃
29. וַ֭יַּכְעִיסוּ
בְּמַֽעַלְלֵיהֶ֑ם
וַתִּפְרָץ־
בָּ֝֗ם
מַגֵּפָֽה׃
30. וַיַּעֲמֹ֣ד
פִּֽ֭ינְחָס
וַיְפַלֵּ֑ל
וַ֝תֵּעָצַ֗ר
הַמַּגֵּפָֽה׃
31. וַתֵּחָ֣שֶׁב
ל֭וֹ
לִצְדָקָ֑ה
לְדֹ֥ר
וָ֝דֹ֗ר
עַד־
עוֹלָֽם׃
32. וַ֭יַּקְצִיפוּ
עַל־
מֵ֥י
מְרִיבָ֑ה
וַיֵּ֥רַע
לְ֝מֹשֶׁ֗ה
בַּעֲבוּרָֽם׃
33. כִּֽי־
הִמְר֥וּ
אֶת־
רוּח֑וֹ
וַ֝יְבַטֵּ֗א
בִּשְׂפָתָֽיו׃
34. לֹֽא־
הִ֭שְׁמִידוּ
אֶת־
הָֽעַמִּ֑ים
אֲשֶׁ֤ר
אָמַ֖ר
יְהוָ֣ה
לָהֶֽם׃
35. וַיִּתְעָרְב֥וּ
בַגּוֹיִ֑ם
וַֽ֝יִּלְמְד֗וּ
מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶֽם׃
36. וַיַּעַבְד֥וּ
אֶת־
עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֑ם
וַיִּהְי֖וּ
לָהֶ֣ם
לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ׃
37. וַיִּזְבְּח֣וּ
אֶת־
בְּ֭נֵיהֶם
וְאֶת־
בְּנֽוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
לַשֵּֽׁדִים׃
38. וַיִּֽשְׁפְּכ֨וּ
דָ֪ם
נָקִ֡י
דַּם־
בְּנֵ֘יהֶ֤ם
וּֽבְנוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
זִ֭בְּחוּ
לַעֲצַבֵּ֣י
כְנָ֑עַן
וַתֶּחֱנַ֥ף
הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ
בַּדָּמִֽים׃
39. וַיִּטְמְא֥וּ
בְמַעֲשֵׂיהֶ֑ם
וַ֝יִּזְנ֗וּ
בְּמַ֥עַלְלֵיהֶֽם׃
40. וַיִּֽחַר־
אַ֣ף
יְהוָ֣ה
בְּעַמּ֑וֹ
וַ֝יְתָעֵ֗ב
אֶת־
נַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃
41. וַיִּתְּנֵ֥ם
בְּיַד־
גּוֹיִ֑ם
וַֽיִּמְשְׁל֥וּ
בָ֝הֶ֗ם
שֹׂנְאֵיהֶֽם׃
42. וַיִּלְחָצ֥וּם
אוֹיְבֵיהֶ֑ם
וַ֝יִּכָּנְע֗וּ
תַּ֣חַת
יָדָֽם׃
43. פְּעָמִ֥ים
רַבּ֗וֹת
יַצִּ֫ילֵ֥ם
וְ֭הֵמָּה
יַמְר֣וּ
בַעֲצָתָ֑ם
וַ֝יָּמֹ֗כּוּ
בַּעֲוֺנָֽם׃
44. וַ֭יַּרְא
בַּצַּ֣ר
לָהֶ֑ם
בְּ֝שָׁמְע֗וֹ
אֶת־
רִנָּתָֽם׃
45. וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר
לָהֶ֣ם
בְּרִית֑וֹ
וַ֝יִּנָּחֵ֗ם
כְּרֹ֣ב
חסדו
חֲסָדָֽיו׃
46. וַיִּתֵּ֣ן
אוֹתָ֣ם
לְרַחֲמִ֑ים
לִ֝פְנֵ֗י
כָּל־
שׁוֹבֵיהֶֽם׃
47. הוֹשִׁיעֵ֨נוּ ׀
יְה֘וָ֤ה
אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ
וְקַבְּצֵנוּ֮
מִֽן־
הַגּ֫וֹיִ֥ם
לְ֭הֹדוֹת
לְשֵׁ֣ם
קָדְשֶׁ֑ךָ
לְ֝הִשְׁתַּבֵּ֗חַ
בִּתְהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
48. בָּ֤רֽtוּךְ־
יְהוָ֨ה
אֱלֹהֵ֪י
יִשְׂרָאֵ֡ל
מִן־
הָ֤עוֹלָ֨ם ׀
וְעַ֬ד
הָעוֹלָ֗ם
וְאָמַ֖ר
כָּל־
הָעָ֥ם
אָמֵ֗ן
הַֽלְלוּ־
יָֽהּ׃